President Greci reported that the Board met in Closed Session on the items on the agenda and no reportable actions were taken.

Item 5 -

CITIZENS FORUM
Dennis Gambs, a candidate for the Zone 7 Board of Directors, addressed the Board regarding the process for selection of a new General Manager. He suggested that the public have an opportunity to review a draft contract before it is approved and then once approved that it be posted to the Agency's website.

In response to Director Ramirez Holmes' question about the contract that will be extended to the new General Manager being included in an agenda packet prior to the board meeting, Counsel David Aladjem confirmed that yes, the contract including compensation will be presented to the Board during Open Session for approval.

Ms. Duerig announced that Bill Sadler, Water Facilities Supervisor in the Operations section, was selected as the Employee of the Month. Bill has been with Zone 7 since 2013. He oversees the wellfield operations and the Mocho Demineralization Plant and is dedicated to assuring operations run smoothly. He is recognized for being a great team player as he interfaces with many other sections throughout the Agency. He is a very knowledgeable expert in the field and consistently works with project teams to solve issues. He has received multiple kudos from staff and the public. Mr. Sadler was present in the audience and the Board congratulated him for his accomplishments.

Item 8b - New Employee Introduction

Ms. Duerig introduced two new employees who joined Zone 7 in January; Stephen Greer and Miles Hallock.

Stephen Greer came to us from the City of Modesto where he worked as a Utilities Plant Operator I. Prior to Modesto, he worked at the Dublin San Ramon Services District. He holds Grade 2 certifications in both Water Treatment and Water Distribution from the State of California as well as a Grade 3 certification as a Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator. The Board welcomed Stephen Greer in absentia.

Miles Hallock joined us from the City of Sacramento where he worked as a Junior Operator. Miles holds Grade 2 certifications in both Water Treatment and Water Distribution from the State of California. The Board welcomed Miles Hallock in absentia.

Rhett Alzona, Principal Engineer in the Facilities Engineering section, presented the staff report on the bids received for the Mocho 2 Well Repair Project. He explained that the project is essentially replacing the well pump and a damaged catch basin for the well-to-waste line. The project was advertised for bids in accordance with the California Public Contract Code. One bid was received from Commercial Pump and Mechanical, Inc. (CPM). Zone 7 Staff reviewed the bid and has determined CPM to be the lowest responsive and responsible bidder with a bid of $235,222. The Staff recommended the Board approve and accept the bid and award a contract to Commercial Pump and Mechanical, Inc. (CPM) in an amount not-to-exceed $235,222.

President Greci asked for public comment. None was received.

Director Quigley moved to approve Item 9 and Director Ramirez Holmes seconded the motion. The item was passed by a roll call vote of 5-0 with Directors McGrail and Stevens absent.

Resolution No. 18-08 Authorized the award of a construction contract to Commercial

Osborn Solitei, Treasurer/Assistant General Manager, Finance, presented the staff report which highlighted the Agency's Purchasing Policy, adopted by the Board in June 2017, to purchase goods and services in a manner providing the greatest value at the minimum cost to the public served by Zone 7 and to ensure that purchasing and bidding requirements are in accordance with Section 54201 et seq. of the government Code of the State of California. In order to streamline the purchasing process, staff recommends that the County Auditor-Controller issue purchase orders for the Agency using Zone 7 funds on deposit with the County Treasury. He stated that anything over $50K will still come to the Board. This process was discussed with the County and they were amenable to streamlining the process in this manner.

Director Ramirez Holmes thanked Staff for meeting with the County to discuss streamlining the process.

President Greci asked for public comment. None was received.

Director Quigley moved to approve Item 10 and Director Ramirez Holmes seconded the motion. The item was passed by a roll call vote of 5-0 with Directors McGrail and Stevens absent.

Resolution No. 18-09 Authorized the Auditor-Controller of Alameda County to issue

Mr. Solitei presented the staff report regarding payoff of the Semitropic Stored Water Recovery Unit (SWRU) Project Capital Payment. He explained that participation in this project began in 2004. Zone 7's proportional share (6.5%) results in an annual payment of $49,178 coming from Fund 130. The $10.5 million pipeline portion of the SWRU project was financed by 30-year bonds with an interest rate of 5.266%. The Agency negotiated with Semitropic and they agreed to give Zone 7 a 2% discount. Early payoff will net the Agency a savings of $120,000. The Staff recommended authorization to appropriate $670,000 from Fund 130 - Water Enterprise Expansion capital project reserves.

Directors Palmer expressed support for that amount of savings. Director Quigley stated that the Finance Committee also expressed support for the payoff.

Director Quigley moved to approve Item 11 and Director Palmer seconded the motion. The item was passed by a roll call vote of 5-0 with Directors McGrail and Stevens absent.

Director Palmer reported that she attended the ACWA Water Management Committee meeting on February 7th, and an ACWA Water Quality Committee meeting on February 13th. She further reported that she attended a presentation along with Carol Mahoney, Manager of Integrated Water Resources, on a talk about climate change by Dr. Roger Bales at the Bankhead Theater.

Director Ramirez Holmes inquired about the status of the boardroom sound system. Further discussion ensued with a representative of Spinitar who addressed the issue of sound cutting in and out. An automatic mixer and new microphones will be installed and the sound system will be fine-tuned at that time.

Director Ramirez Holmes stated that she has been approached by the community regarding increasing the visibility of Zone 7's building signage, especially during evening meetings. She inquired about the possibility of adding lighting and asked that this be evaluated and added as a future agenda item.

Director Quigley inquired about a study to install solar panels at the main office building facility. He expressed interest in seeing an item to discuss how much this will save the Agency. Ms. Duerig replied that this may be coming to the Board for approval in March.

Director Ramirez Holmes pointed out the update on the Sites Reservoir contained in the General Manager's Report (Item 15a) which includes the public benefits and an informational webpage address the provides additional documents and video.

Director Ramirez Holmes mentioned that the information contained in the Investment Report as of December 31, 2017 (Item 15e) was presented at the February 14th Finance Committee meeting. This is the first investment report received since the policy has been put into place and has been a good learning experience for those on the Finance Committee. It discusses how the Agency chooses investments based on direction in the Board policy.